ARA: Find me a house cleaner that is as Type A as me

I clean my own house. I always thought it was a waste of money to spend money to clean my house when it would just get dirty again. Plus – I am capable of doing it myself.

But lately, I feel like wouldn’t it be fabulous to have a house cleaner?

When I gave birth to my daughter, my grandfather gave me a gift of 12 house cleaning visits. At first I was elated. After the second time that she came, I was going nuts. I felt like she never put anything back where it belonged and I felt after she was finished cleaning – I could have just cleaned my house better than her.

So – here is my question. Does anyone have a FABULOUS house cleaner that they love? Does the person go above and beyond? Is your house SPARKLY clean?

I feet like all my friends who have house cleaners just like them so-so. They don’t rave a about them. I want someone who is amazing! And reasonably cheap (~$75).

I agree with lillywhite. I have a lovely woman who comes every other week. She’s very reasonable, but not perfect. After all, I also feel that no one cleans my house as good as me. But, it’s really nice to come home on the day she cleans and the house smells and looks clean. I figure it’s a great way to help me keep in between my cleanings. She’s not the first person I’ve had, but, she’s the one I’ve had the longest. I trust her implicitly, with my animals and my belongings. That’s huge.

I would also like to know of a great housecleaner; I’m just “so-so” with the ones I’ve had. I feel if I’m paying for it, my house should be cleaner than if I do it myself. FYI. . .the price is also based on the size of the house.

I also agree with lilywhite #1 and jsc #5. I’m not sure how large your house is or how many bathrooms you have (those 2 items are a big factor in a cleaner’s prcing) but I don’t think you are being realistic in thinking you can get amazing – or really anyone – for less than $75.00.

I called around last year to get quotes for a total floor to ceiling every single room totally scrubbed clean cleaning service. I didn’t end up doing it, simply due to other happenings.

For my bungalow style house (not including walk up attic or unfinished basement – but did include the porch)… best rate I found was $275-300. For average cleaning, same rooms, same house… $150ish?

By ‘best’ I mean best overall – best customer service response, rates, best website information, the feeling I got while talking to them, customer references, available services, etc.

I highly doubt you’ll find anyone that will live up to your stated expectations for less than $75.

Not even the side-job college student cleaner. Either lower your expectations, up your budget for it, or give your current cleaning people better details on what you want done. They don’t live in your house & they don’t know you.

The first was thorough – she really did a great job in cleaning the entire house. However, she was somewhat pricey and not entirely reliable (i.e., she’d frequently cancel her scheduled appointment).

The second was completely reliable – she always came when she said she would – and cheap. However. . . you get what you pay for. She did little more than a “surface cleaning” and even that wasn’t so great. We kept her for awhile because at least she wasn’t costly. . . .

The third was somewhere in the middle: she did a decent job (better than #2 but not as good as #1) and the price was also in the middle. However, she was even less reliable than #1; she’d frequently cancel her scheduled cleaning day the morning that we were expecting her – often leaving a message after my wife and I were gone for the day. As anyone with young kids who’s “cleaned for the cleaning lady” knows, that means you’ve basically wasted your time, since you’re going to have to do it again on the day she reschedules. So we got rid of her after one too many cancellations and reschedulings.

My wife and I now do it ourselves. Not as often as we’d like, and sometimes it’s little more than “surface cleaning” to get by for another week (with some exceptions: I scrub toilets on a weekly basis and stay on top of the bathtub, and my wife keeps the kitchen in good shape) but at least we’re not throwing away $ and we’re not frustrated by the reliability (or rather lack thereof) or spotty quality of the job.

Beleive it or not, I do some housecleaning jobs in addition to my office job. My average price is around $75. That is for a three bedroom, two and a half bath average size home. I like to think I do a better than average job (I don’t use a mop… it’s old style hands and knees for me) but I am probably not perfect.

I am also picky… I HATE a customer who writes me a note every time I show up and I don’t allow any extra jobs be thrown at me without notice and extra money.

I hate to say this but you may be one of those people who will never find your perfect cleaning lady. Just something about the tone of your post…

I just thought of another thing. My cleaning person brings all her own supplies. The only thing of mine she uses is my vacuum cleaners. This is included in the price and is definitely a money saver for me.

I can’t imagine hiring a cleaner. But if I did, I presume it would be because I was too busy/tired/sick to do the basics. I suspect it depends on what you define as the basics. For me it would be: sweep/vacuum the floors, scrub the tub and toilet, scrub the oventop, and scrub the kitchen floor and counters.
And since I think those things need to be done once a week at the very least, I would need someone weekly…to save me what, two hours of work? Not worth it.

$75? #10-Christine: What’s your #? ;) I have yet to find any cleaner that will come for less than 100 for a decent job. I was paying a college student $75 to surface clean and she used all my supplies. Like the other commenters said: You need to take into account the gas, supplies, TIME and service. Either lower your expectations or raise your budget.

I don’t mind a note that tells me something I don’t know (We had company so please vacuum the guest room). But, I’ve had customers leave me notes that tell me to make sure I clean the shower floor or that they left clean sheets on the beds. Really? It’s almost like a control thing. I know how to clean and do it right- I don’t need a note.

I once tried to raise a customer $5 per cleaning and she let me go. She called me six months later and begged me to come back. Her new cleaning person was cheaper but was unrelaibale and didn’t do as good a job. So, you get what you pay for. I ALWAYS show up.

So Christine (you are bound to be very popular now) can you give us an idea of a reasonable rate and what we should expect? I get annoyed when I can still see the dust under the entertainment center after the cleaner leaves… or there are still crumbs under the toaster, or boatloads of dust on the dryer. What is reasonable to expect?

Kitchen- All appliances windexed. Stove top scrubbed (For a gas stove, I soak the iron grates in the sink). All counters wiped down (including under the toaster), any drips on the cabinets spot washed, inside of microwave cleaned,garbage out, sink scrubbed and shined and floor washed.

As far as a rate goes, I base my price at between $25-$30 an hour. And, I move at a brisk pace, so sometimes I end up making more than that. I don’t work for the customer by the hour, I quote them a price up front because after many years, I can tell how long it will take.

I also know from the first meeting if our relationship will be successful. I give everyone a shot but most times my first impreession is correct and it doesn’t work out. The clients I have now I have had between 4-12 years.